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Cole fires Taylor’s youngsters to victory

Austria Under-21 0 England Under-21 2

From George Caulkin

September 4 2004, 1:00am, The Times

PICKING up where he left off, Peter Taylor’s first competitive fixture back in part-time control of England’s Under-21 team brought an impressive victory over Austria in Krems last night, enlivened by hints of promise. Carlton Cole mustered his fifth goal in all competitions this season and was an energetic presence, Darren Bent scored the second and Stewart Downing, of Middlesbrough, offered hope of a more tantalising nature.

A member of that endangered species — a winger equipped to play on the left — Downing should be guaranteed the long-term attention of Sven-Göran Eriksson. The same applies to Cole, who has added consistency to his explosiveness since his move on loan to Aston Villa from Chelsea. He might have had a hat-trick here.